Bristol-Myers Squibb to buy heart drugmaker MyoKardia for $13.1bn
US pharmaceuticals giant Bristol-Myers Squibb is set to acquire California drugmaker MyoKardia for $13.1bn (£10.1bn), in a merger deal that will significantly expand its roster of cardiovascular drugs.
Bristol-Myers Squibb today said it had agreed to pay $225 a share for the drugmaker, marking more than a 60 per cent premium on MyoKardia’s closing price on Friday.
The deal was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, and is expected to close by the end of the year. Bristol-Myers said it will fund the deal with a combination of cash and debt.
The announcement sent MyoKardia shares soaring, with the Nasdaq-listed stock up more than 58 per cent to $220.64 in morning trading.
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s chief executive Giovanni Caforio said the California company’s drug mavacamten had the potential to be a “multibillion-dollar franchise in the second half of the decade”.
The drug, which is expected to be submitted to the FDA for approval early next year, treats obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — a serious condition causing thickness in the heart thought to affect around one in 500 people.
Mavacamten is one of a number of drugs made by MyoKardia found in trials to significantly improve heart-related health problems.
The merger marks a significant boost for heart-focused drugmakers, as cardiovascular disease remains the number-one killer worldwide. Cardiovascular-related illnesses currently kill twice as many people per year as cancer, and almost 13 times as many fatalities as road accidents.
Bristol-Myers Squibb already has a significant portfolio of cardiovascular drugs, including blood clot prevention medicine Eliquis.
“The acquisition of MyoKardia further strengthens our portfolio, pipeline and scientific capabilities, and is expected to add a meaningful medium- and long-term growth driver,” said Caforio.
MyoKardia, founded in 2012 by healthcare-focused venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures, said the merger would “accelerate” innovation within its “unparalleled pipeline of targeted therapeutics”.
Chief executive Tassos Gianakakos said: “Bristol Myers Squibb shares our vision for transforming the treatment of cardiovascular disease. They value our team and the potential of our platform and, most importantly, share our unwavering commitment to placing patients at the center of everything we do.
“Together, our complementary strengths and expanded resources and reach will further accelerate the pace at which we can discover, develop and commercialize our novel medicines.”
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